Surface Pro 2 battery life boosted 25 percent by firmware update

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Microsoft had a treat for Surface Pro 2 owners this week. A fresh firmware update has increased the tablet’s battery life by around 25 percent.

The Surface Pro 2 originally ran for around six hours and forty minutes on its battery. It’s the same 42Wh pack that featured in the original Surface Pro, which fares even worse: it struggles to hit the five hour mark. The big difference, of course, is the Haswell processor Microsoft decided to use in the Surface Pro 2.

But that six hours and forty minutes is a far cry from the eight hours Microsoft claimed when they originally announced the tablet. Fortunately, the new Windows 8.1 firmware for the Surface Pro 2 has taken care of that disparity.

According to AnandTech’s browsing benchmark, the Surface Pro 2 can now squeeze about eight hours and twenty minutes from its pair of LG cells. That’s an impressive gain from a mere firmware update, and one that Surface Pro 2 owners will be ecstatic about.

The update has also moved the Surface Pro 2 way up the tablet endurance chart. The tablet now offers better battery life than Google’s Nexus 10 and the 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3. In fact, the Surface Pro 2 even beats its Windows RT cousin. The Surface 2 posted just under seven hours on AnandTech’s benchmark.

The Surface Pro 2 doesn’t fare quite as well when playing video, but it still came close to eight hours. Interestingly, the Surface 2 fared better there — lasting for just over 10 hours.